Ethiopian Sword For Comment
 

Hi Guys

I have had a busy week at the Ebay mall :D I picked up this nice Ethiopian sword the blade seems locally made with some kind of eyelash stamp on it. The hilt seems to be rhino horn but I can't be sure. Any comments would be appreciated.


Lew

Lew,
You have been busy, getting very nice things. Tim

Looks like it's in really nice shape Lew ; I think we'll need close-ups of the hilt when you receive it to really tell what the hilt material is .

to me that sword fits ethnographic collecting to a tee. A good example of what was probably worn by a man that was likely to have need of it.

Glad to see that there is more and more interest in Ethiopian swords. You ask about the grip. NOT rhino, I'm afraid. It's cow or buffalo horn. I have tried to point out in a previous thread the significance of the small cavity that one finds on the side of the large top piece. That's the end of the hollow horn sheath that covers the bone. I believe it shows in one of your pictures. Regardless of the material of the hilt, it's a nice, solid, original piece. Cheers, RON

You said it Bill. That is a very solid piece. Beautiful.

Steve

Ron

You are correct there is a hole in the bottom segment of the hilt so than it's not rhino horn. Can you find a picture on the web of the animal this comes from it does not seem to be normal cow horn.


Lew

When in Eritrea, I saw quite a few ZEBUS (hump-backed cattle) with absolutely massive horns. I will dig up some pictures and post them. Cheers, RON

Still looking for an appropriate picture. In the meantime, I made this drawing... I apologize for the poor quality, but I do hope that it is clear enough. This is what I believe is the source of the rather common three piece horn grip. One horn would provide the top and bottom part, while another one would provide the central part. The origin of the "hole" in the side should be pretty clear at this point. Cheers, RON

Hi Lew,

Good one! I watched this on Ebay and was glad to see you get it.

That's an itneresting mark on the blade, are there any others?

Roano, do you think its local or european? If it's local they copied a european pattern by the looks of it.

-d

Derek

In my opinion the blade is a good copy of a European sword blade as far as the marking goes there is a matching mark on the opposite side of the blade.


Lew